NEW YORK – This was a long-overdue breakup. At some point, the Yankees had to stop clinging to the past.
The New York Yankees designated veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu for assignment on Wednesday ahead of their game against the Seattle Mariners. LeMahieu, who had a 91 OPS+ through 45 games this season, was on a six-year contract that ran through the 2026 season. He is still owed nearly $22 million on the remainder of that pact.
“As widely respected a player as we’ve had,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “And rightly so. He’s earned that through his professionalism, his toughness, his play on the field. Just the quiet way he goes about things. There’s a lot of guys that have an immense amount of respect for DJ.”
The decision to DFA LeMahieu, which Boone multiple times characterized as “difficult,” started to evolve in the past few days. After the Yankees this past weekend decided to move Jazz Chisholm from third base back to his original position at second, there was nowhere for LeMahieu to go. Even though the veteran has played 295 career games at third base, and as recently as this spring, he told general manager Brian Cashman over the winter that he was willing to play third, but that it would be a physical challenge for him due to his ongoing recovery from a hip injury.
“It’s a demanding spot,” Boone said of playing the hot corner. “That was going to be a challenge for him. That said, he was willing to work over there and become a real option for us over there.”
Asked how LeMahieu handled the team’s decision, Cashman simply said: “Like a pro.” The veteran infielder was well-liked in the Yankees clubhouse since he joined the organization in 2019.
Cashman said it would be “best for the roster configuration going forward” to eliminate LeMahieu from the equation. The Yankees called up infielder Jorbit Vivas to the major-league roster on Wednesday, and he figures to split time at third with Oswald Peraza, and maybe even catcher J.C. Escarra, as the team tries to find an upgrade at the trade deadline. Cashman said letting go of LeMahieu will allow Boone to play more “chess moves” with his bench.
LeMahieu, 36, is a two-time batting champion and a three-time All-Star who has finished in the top 15 in MVP voting three times throughout his 15-year career. He slashed .325/.386/.625 with three home runs during the Yankees’ 2019 playoff run. He won the batting title with the Bronx Bombers in 2020, when he batted .364 and posted a 1.011 OPS through 50 games.
But he hasn’t been the same player since his injuries started piling up over the past few years, which led to decreased playing time and hard-to-watch defensive errors on the field. As much as his willingness to put his body through unimaginable pain and play through injuries should be admired, parting ways with LeMahieu was years in the making.
The Yankees in recent years have shown reluctance to part ways with their aging players, including guys like Aaron Hicks and Anthony Rizzo, particularly if they were attached to large financial commitments. Rather than eating the money and pursuing upgrades, either externally or within their talent system, the Yankees have more often than not played out stale contracts to the bitter end, or close to it. So Cashman’s decision to DFA LeMahieu and eat the $22 million he’s owed is a bit of a departure from how the GM has recently operated.
It’s fair to wonder whether the Yankees would’ve let go of LeMahieu when they did — in the middle of the season and right before the trade deadline — if there was less pressure to do so. The Yankees are looking up at the Toronto Blue Jays, who have held onto first place in the division since they completed a four-game sweep of New York last week. If the Yankees had a double-digit lead in first place, for example, it’s easy to see LeMahieu still being on the roster.
“That’s the nature of the beast,” Cashman said of LeMahieu’s contract not playing out as the team had expected. “Sometimes these things work out in your favor, sometimes they don’t. In DJ’s case, the conversations led us to a longer-term, lower AAV (average annual value) contract. We could’ve front-loaded it and had a much larger number for maybe shorter years. But obviously, every year we’re dealing with our (luxury) tax consequences and trying to make it all work with the money available at the time.
“Injuries happen and that can change the equation. But no. I don’t go back and look at that with regret. It’s a waste of my time, I guess.”
Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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